Continued from Mount Hermon recap, part 4:I have never pitched to Chip MacGregor, even before he went to work at Warner Faith. He’s been at, I believe, every conference I’ve gone to with the exception of RWA National in 2005, but he doesn’t know who the heck I am since I’m not a very good stalker (I keep losing him).

I was chatting with Sarah Anne Sumpolec one night when Chip walked into the coffee lounge. Sarah called him over to talk about the book idea with an FBI profiler co-author, which they’d emailed about previously.

“Chip, have you met Camy?”

“Nice to meet you, Camy.” Firm handshake, polite smile. The fatigue lines around his face looked like marble etchings. I wondered how many writers he’d met with today. I was just another one.

Sarah outted me. “Chip, Camy just signed a 3-book deal with Zondervan.”

Chip nearly fainted with relief that I was obviously not one of those blood-thirsty predatory novelists seeking out fresh meat to pitch my idea about radioactive frogs in a sweeping love story. “Congratulations, Camy! What’s your book about?”

I had heard that Chip MacGregor does not care for chick-lit in any way, shape, or form, so I was prepared while he was not. Enunciating every syllable like sai blades, I answered, “Asian Chick-lit.”The man had a full-body jerk reaction. “Cringe” is too light a word. Maybe “repulsed jolt” is more appropriate.

Sarah laughed. I hooted. Yes, we were making fun of a Time Warner associate publisher.

Strangely, it made Chip more friendly to me. Although I wouldn’t advise any unpublished writer to ridicule a potential publisher—not good karma—it was highly entertaining.

The rest of the time we talked, Chip kept making cracks. “I had been really looking for Asian chick-lit, but the author signed with my rival house instead.” Or (asking Sarah), “But does your co-author write Asian chick-lit? That’s the real question.”

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